updated 02:25 pm EST, Mon November 22, 2010

Viacom blocks Google TV for Comedy Central, more

Google TV was dealt another major blow on Sunday after viewers discovered that Viacom had blocked the platform on its networks. Websites for Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and other networks now show that the "content is unavailable for your device" rather than loading the Flash video. The restriction was expected earlier given Viacom's failed lawsuit against YouTube but comes relatively late.

It joins blocks from Fox, NBC, SyFy, ABC and CBS and now virtually leaves just Turner as one of the major networks allowing Google TV. All of the studios have blocked it out of fear of losing ad revenue from traditional TV sources such as cable and satellite. Providers have insisted that sudden drops in paid TV subscribers are due solely to the economy, but the recent offerings of ultra-basic TV plans combined with the blocks have suggested that some users may be "cord-cutters" switching to web video and services like Netflix.

While news websites and more independent sites still allow watching without a settings workaround, the lack of content from major providers has gutted much of the platform's advantage for Internet video. Although its chief rival the Apple TV is limited to ABC and Fox for direct rentals, its support for local if paid gives it access to all major networks where Google's focus on free web access has struggled.

Native apps will potentially restore some of the functionality by giving users eventual access to Hulu Plus, Netflix and other services that hold the content, but most if not all known so far will require either a subscription or pay-per-show access. [viaGTVHub]

Pathetic

Its pathetic because the same person can just go watch the show on the computer for free but not on the device connected to the TV. Might as well just connect a computer to the TV then to avoid the blocks. Users should just torrent the shows and watch it for free as a protest to the networks for being such dicks.

Jeez...

I have Google TV and I can watch anything I

want... if I turn off Google TV and watch my Time Warner cable programming instead.

Imagine buying a Google TV-equipped HDTV and find most of the stations are blocked. That is so sickening. I'd return it immediately. I totally understand the HTPC crowd but there needs to be a simpler solution for non-tech consumers. I still intend to upgrade to a new MacMini and turn that into my media hub. It's not a cheap solution, but it will eliminate all the drawbacks of much cheaper solutions.

All the networks are doing is to drive more people to the torrent sites and premium newsservers to download free shows.

don't bother

networks aren't literally paid by the viewer but by a very small sampling of viewers. And they don't credit shows with online viewing, itunes etc.

So the only way your scheme would mean anything to them is if you could somehow hack into Nielsen Media's database, get the names and info on all 25k viewers and get a decent number of them to join you. Because they are the only ones that actually matter

Advertising?

"Its pathetic because the same person can just go watch the show on the computer for free but not on the device connected to the TV. Might as well just connect a computer to the TV then to avoid the blocks. Users should just torrent the shows and watch it for free as a protest to the networks for being such dicks"

Guys wake up! The only reason Google bought Youtube was to make money off advertising. That's their model. The TV Networks do NOT like that with the GTV Google could be making ad money off all their content. So they block it. If they didn't, eventually advertisers would call Google instead of calling, say, Comedy Central.

Google is basically trying to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in Ad money, not by competing the network, but by leeching of online tV, and slapping Google ads on top of those.